Fairy Tales of Perhaps
by TheHappyKitty
Summary: A collection of stories, mostly one-shots, drabbles, and prompts, set in a fantasy AU environment. Will probably have infrequent updates. (Rated M for swearing and mentions of violence.)
1. Welcome to a Fairy Tale

Fairy tales. They exist, and yet they don't. We can't see them, but we can feel them. They shape us, our perception of reality and cause us to make parallels, to learn the morale of the stories, be taught lessons that shape entire lives, entire fates, and the world.

Are they real? People say they're not real, that they're just stories for children, but are they really? Were the brothers Grimm just dreamers, or did they document secrets, despite knowing they would be scoffed at, and hide them so brilliantly in plain sight, hidden by our own ignorance?

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

All we can do is theorize and look back, draw our own conclusions and live with them.

Because surely, _surely,_ if mythical creatures such as dragons or fairies existed, we would know of them? See them in everyday lives?

Perhaps they've all gone extinct. Perhaps they're masterfully staying hidden, staying under everyone's radar.

Perhaps they've been reduced to history, to life in leatherbound books, both the ones that confirm their existence and the ones that glamorize it, treat it as nothing but mere fantasy.

However, it is said that history repeats itself. Perhaps that is why so many lessons can be learned from children's books, why we can draw parallels. Perhaps fairy tales don't need knights in shining armor or princesses needing to be rescued. Perhaps all they require are people.

There are so many 'perhaps' regarding his topic. Will we ever have concrete answers? Probably not.

Perhaps there was once a forest filled with magical creatures beyond our comprehension. Perhaps that alongside fairies and gnomes there lived spirits and ghouls. Alongside dragons there existed happy pink talking piggies as well as those things too awful and incomprehensible to describe to mortal men.

Perhaps each of these species governed itself, fighting for its survival. Whilst they did not need to fight for space, for there was not an end to the forest, they fought for the sake of fighting - for the sake of differences, of lineage, of grudges caused by deeds long forgotten, but still leaving behind an intent of ill will.

Perhaps some species, or 'clans', banded together, charting out their territory and co-existing within it. There may have been five of these bands, or Nations as they were dubbed by those that attempted to stay neutral and settled in the land between them. In turn, those a part of the Nations dubbed those that shied away from conflict, yet still flocked together (for every living being seeks those of their own kind) Small Counties.

Perhaps there were five such Nations. Each of them could have possessed primarily those beings with human-like features - perhaps that might be why humans dominate the Earth in present time? - and set up their headquarters deep within the heart of each Nation, giving these living quarters the name of Hidden Villages.

Each of the Nations might have been named after an element.

The Nation of Water. A Nation concealed by marshes, where every step caused mud to churn or water to break its surface, whose trees were twisted and short, yet thick and providing cover. The rumors spoke of fish-like creatures, possessing teeth that could cut through meat and mysterious women with beautiful tails, whose songs lured unsuspecting victims toward them to sate their own hunger.

The water was rumored to have a mind of its own, to be alive. The marshes changed, every day rendering memorized paths useless. The mist that swirled and curled and danced, perhaps just as alive as the water, rendered visibility to zero, and was said to be the thickest at their Hidden Village.

The Village Hidden in the Mist. Known as Kirigakure in the old tongue, but usually referred to as Kiri. The residents of Kiri were said to be the most bloodthirsty of all those who lived in the forest, and many believed they traded their very souls for the protection and control of their homeland.

The Nation of Earth. Situated within winding passes and craggy cliffsides dotted with perhaps millions of caves, all interconnected, it was said that many of those living there rarely saw the sunlight, living within the security provided by the enormous labyrinth that none but locals were capable of navigating through. These locals had skin with the same texture as the rocks themselves, usually even matching their color, and were known as golems.

The Village Hidden in the Stone. Iwagakure in the old tongue, and called Iwa. It was located somewhere so deep underground that some said it didn't even exist.

The Nation of Lightning. Taking its place at the peaks of mountains, unreachable for all those who would attempt to climb them. Those attempting to look to the top would have to crane their necks until their vertebrae popped out of place and their eyes were practically closed from squinting.

Those that lived here did not need to walk to their homes - they flew. The ones who lived here were those that dominated the skies.

The Village Hidden in the Cloud. Kumogakure. Kumo. True to its name, it was on the very highest mountain, situated so far up one could not see it because of its cloud covering.

The Nation of Wind. Surprisingly enough, sitting nestled on a flatland, it was barely still a forest. It would not be, if not for the occasional rare tree, which kept low to the ground, yet its branches fanned out, covering a sizable area and making it look more like a bush.

The inahabitants of this land were those as nimble as the wind, the sprites and the nymphs and those that danced under the moonlight.

The Village Hidden in the Sand. Sunagakure or Suna. Shockingly, none apart from its citizens had ever seen it, and it was named because of the answer the elusive spirits would always give: "It's where the all the wandering sands are blown to by the wind!"

The Nation of Fire. The Nation that prided itself on its enermous trees and the way it was always in sync with nature, its inhabitants even taking on animalistic features such as fangs or tails.

Its clans were those that would be entirely human if not for their slightly narrower eyes as well as those whose intelligence was the only thing that separated them from beasts.

The Village Hidden in the Leaves. Konohagakure, or Konoha. A name that referenced the way the settlement was tucked away in the mighty branches, merging seamlessly with its environment and causing even the most thorough searcher to look right past it.

Perhaps this forest is where most fairy tales were born. Perhaps now their true origins will be revealed and history before times we can remember will finally be told to those who might believe it.

Perhaps answers will be found her, or perhaps readers will merely be provided with entertaiment.

For there is no longer any 'perhaps'- this is the truth that I wish to share with the world.

* * *

 **AN: I have no idea. This just kind of... became. It was supposed to start off a an innocent little GaaHina one-shot and somehow, I ended creating this entire Naruto fantasy world inside my head beause... I really have no idea.**

 **So hey, here's an idea! Lately, I've been trouble with inspiration, so I'm asking for prompts. Mainly prompts for me to add to this story as unrelated one-shots that will just happen in this setting to go along with the ones I write when I get inspired. So if you just shoot a quick PM my way with a short sentence about a drabble or something ya wanna read, I'll attempt it.**

 **Like it? Don't like it? Please review. (And yes. I am very, very aware I should be working on the Lost Puppy. I feel guilty enough as it is, you don't have to rub it in my face.)**


	2. Crimson

One might not expect it, with the way it was nigh near invisible, but Konoha was a very busy place. If you knew it, had lived there all your life (considering the inhabitants, this could be anything from a decade to millenia), were used to seeing everyone and everything there is to see, it would resemble something of a hive.

Hinata seamlessly jumped from branch to branch, taking one of the more peaceful side routes, before appearing in the doorway of one of the large clan complexes scattered amongst the trees in the most strategic locations. She entered the ancient and enormous oak, fluidly ducking behind one the grooves running along the bark. To anyone observing her, it would have looked like she simply vanished into thin air.

(For those needing a comparison to imagine just how big the trees are, pretend that you're a ladybug amongst redwoods.)

The inside was a very pleasant and homey scene. Tables made of acorns from the oak (shrunk down, of course) dotted the spacious living room, each surrounded by mats made only of the finest moss for sitting on, with a cheerful fire, colored blue by magic, blazing in the corner.

It was all as it should be, for Hinata's clan was one of the four honorable clans who had originally founded the Nation. They were the Hyūga, rumored to be descendants of the mighty griffins. Over the years they had lost the ability to fly, but had instead honed their eyesight until they could spot a gnome (the smallest of the races) from miles away. Those who got a lucky draw in the genetic lottery could even use magic to enhance it, and thus see _through_ objects.

Hinata made her way over to a hollowed-out cavity in the wall, dropping the bag with groceries inside, and pulled the lever to activate the miniature elevator. Just because she was of the Main Branch - practically royalty - and thus had a floor all to herself with all her food being prepared by Branch Members down in the kitchens, didn't mean she couldn't do simple chores, thank you very much. Besides, she found the morning market, even with the large numbers of people, soothing. It was a habit of Hinata's to go there for a walk every morning. Picking up groceries was just a bonus, really.

She had actually been planning on having some tea and maybe going to the hospital to help out in the afternoon, but predominantely just reading most of the day, before she was very rudely interrupted. The interruption came in the way of a message, folded into a paper airplane and fueled by magic, crashing straight into the side of her head at a rather alarming speed.

She might have suspected it was another one of Ino's crazy schemes that she got up to when she was bored, if not for two things:

1) It was 9 a.m. in the morning, about five hours too early for Ino to be drunk enough to do something like that.

2) The Hokage's official seal of office was on it.

Upon noticing that interesting little tidbit, Hinata immediately unfurled the somewhat wrinkled piece of paper and began reading. Within a few minutes, most of the blood had drained from her face.

An edited version of the message might look something like this: _Hyūga, get your ass on the frontlines now because Earth just started a fucking war and allied with Lightning, and both have just taken over the entire northern border. Wind is already sending forces to help us and Water's not doing jackshit even though we have a treaty because they're probably just waiting to see who ends up winning so they can join them. I don't give a shit if you have other stuff to do, go to Shizune or the council about it after the goddamn invasion has been repelled._

It was accompanied by Tsunade's sloppily scrawled signature and a rather prominent booze stain.

All thoughts of tea and spending the day relaxing were promptly thrown out the window as she bolted to get her now-Jōnin jacket (a pain in the ass to earn) and seal up some necessities in a storage scroll before running out the door. The tree automatically set up a protective spell as she left, but that wasn't on her mind just now because horror was stamping that into the ground.

What were Earth and Lightning thinking? The last war had been less than five decades ago! (A short time for "immortals" - though no species was truly immortal. They would live forever, but only if they weren't killed by, say, a stab to the gut.) Just thinking of the war had Hinata biting her lip in anxiety. Whilst it had given her more confidence and cleared up her relationship with Naruto ("I'm sorry Hinata, but I just don't feel the same way"), it had also given her and many other who had fought nightmares that took a very long time to go away.

Why start another conflict?!

These thoughts chased around in circles within her head as she headed to the site of the battle. Although she had seen others leaving as she headed out of the village, the message had told her not to worry about being with a team, that she would be assigned into a squad as soon as she reported to the leading commander, who was apparently Kakashi.

Hinata made the journey in three hours, a new record for her, and swiftly wove amongst tents that had obviously been very hastily erected, heading for a blob of silver hair complete with dog ears she could see above the rest of heads. As soon as Kakashi spotted her, he nodded and crossed something off a checklist in his hand, giving her instructions to head as backup to Squad 2, which consisted the Kazekage and his siblings because they didn't have a medic and needed one, pronto.

Shoving her surprise at the assignment into a mental box filed 'consider it later', Hinata gave an affirmative and raced off, going where her superior eyesight already showed her the carnage was. Channeling magic into her eyes to activate the Byakugan, she caught a flash of red hair and instantly recognized the squad she was apparently assigned to, at the very front - because, _of course_ she would be assigned to one of the most dangerous teams, a sarcastic little voice in her mind remarked, while another part of her realized that she must've been the only Jōnin-level medic available, since normal field medics wouldn't have stood a chance here - and landed beside them, shouting off a quick "I'm your backup!" so they wouldn't, like, accidentally crush her.

Death by friendly fire? She hadn't survived her Chūnin exams, an invasion, and a full-blown war against a goddess just to go out like that.

Kankurō and Gaa- the Kazekage (it was sometimes hard to remember she was supposed to act formally with him, considering they had known each other since they were twelve, and one of the first times she'd seen him he'd been crushing some defenseless Genin into fine powder, which _she was not thinking about, shut up brain)_ only acknowledged her with a look out of the corner of their eyes while Temari gave her the privilege of a nod before going back to tearing apart enemies with her wind magic. Though gruesome, it was still rather interesting from a medical standpoint, since-

A Lion Fist materializing around her hand, she quickly took out a guy attempting to decapitate her with a blow to his solar plexus. Right. Battlefield. Probably shouldn't be distracted and fight instead. So fight she did.

Hours later, she would reflect that they must've painted a strange picture. After all, the Sand Siblings were all nymphs, which meant that they were smaller than the average person, lighter, with pale skin, curved ears, and strangely attractive features. (Good thing they weren't sprites. She just wouldn't have been able to take them seriously if they'd constantly levitated some two feet off the ground.)

But she herself didn't have much room to talk about appearances. She was also pale, though her eyes were large and lavender in color, giving her a rather innocent look, and her hair was a long, flowing indigo with an occasion feather that grew in it. Her nails were just a little too curved and sharp to pass for normal, and her teeth were pointed enough to give her an odd appearance that caused others to be automatically wary of her, though none could exactly put a finger on why.

Standing amongst both corpses and bodies that were still breathing but wouldn't be in a few minutes, slaughtering all those that stood on front of them - well, it wasn't surprising that some of those she had killed had very visibly soiled their pants just before dying.

Killed.

It was an impossible word for her to come to terms with, so she didn't. She wasn't thinking of it as taking lives. Instead, she was cutting grass, one stalk after another. A community service. Yeah, that's what she was doing.

(She was just glad the Sand Siblings were in the front and took on most of the fighting. She only took care of those that slipped through the cracks.)

An advantage of having superior eyesight was the fact that she could process movements, battles, much faster than was normal. So when she caught sight of a blue blur speeding towards the Kazekage at inhuman speed, time seemed to slow down as she calculated speeds at a mind-boggling rate, realizing just in time that the sand wouldn't be _fast enough._

So just as the blur was about to hit Gaara (there was no time to correct herself), just as he was a hair's breath away from causing critical damage, and just as Gaara realized _oh shit_ , it was slammed to the side by a Vacuum Palm.

Not allowing herself time to think, she followed it up with her favorite move, the blue lion roaring as it headed straight for the figure, and just as it moved to expose its face, a part of Hinata noted _that's the Raikage,_ while the rest of her was quickly moving to readjust her momentum, just now realizing his speed was greater than hers and that if he finished moving his arm _just like that_ , she was dead meat, when a wall of sand sprung in front of her, wrapping around the arm and throwing the Raikage away.

"Cover me!" Operating on auto-pilot, she nodded to the command, already smashing an attack into the jaw of another attacker that was hoping to use the situation to attack her.

The rest of the battle was a haze.

Hinata vaguely remembered protecting Gaara as he fought the Raikage, cutting down body after body, breaking bone after bone, coloring the ground in red, red, redred _redredred,_ until it seemed she had dyed the entire forest floor crimson.

Finally, _finally,_ the fighting seemed to stop, and she spotted a blond head ahead of them along with distinctive spiky black hair. Relief flooded her because Naruto and Sasuke must be here, and if they were here then they would take her place at the front, and she could finally rest. Giving herself a quick check-up, she winced. Magic exhaustion.

Taking a look around, she could see Temari and Kankurō finishing a few last enemies, looking only slightly winded. Gaar- the _Kazekage,_ on the other hand, looked like he'd attempted to fight a were-tiger and lost. He was rather cut up, and even with her Byakugan deactivated due to lack of magic, she could feel a distinct lack of energy coming off of him. On top of that, he was panting like he'd just run a marathon, although that was understandable, given he'd just fought the Raikage.

To his credit, he was still standing, and even took a step forward as if to participate in the battle once more.

At that point, Hinata's doctor instincts kicked in. While she may have still been rather shy, when it came to caring for people, it was a as if she was a whole different person.

"Kazekage-sama," she said in her best firm medic voice, which made him effectively stop in his tracks, since he was acquainted Sakura well enough to know what was about to happen. "You are severely injured, and from what I can tell from here, also drained of most of your magic. As a medic, I'm telling you to go to camp and get yourself looked after properly."

After a second or two, he turned back around with a resigned sigh, very pointedly ignoring the matching smirks his siblings were sending him, and started to take off before stopping again, as if remembering something. He turned to Hinata. "What about you?" His voice held a bit of a challenge.

Hinata's eyes narrowed of their own volition. " _I,"_ she told him (didn't hiss, that wouldn't be respectful), "am also going back to camp since I'm magic exhausted." With that, she turned and set off, only realizing after a few seconds that _she had just talked to the Kazekage like that, oh god._

Sensing him falling in step beside her, she risked a quick glance to the side, but his expression was inscrutinable.

The journey to the medical tents was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences she had ever gone through, but they thankfully managed it in silence with absolutely no missing limbs, so Hinata chalked it up as a success.

A few minutes later, after they had been checked out by medical personnel and been given strict orders of bed rest, she was just wandering off to find where she was supposed to stay, when Gaara cleared his threat behind her.

Turning around, she squeaked a "Yes?" Oh no, her nervous habits were returning tenfold. She just hoped she didn't faint.

Gaara inclined his head the side ever so slightly, as if wondering how to phrase his next sentence. "Thank you for preventing the Raikage's blow from hitting me. It is possible I would have been incapacitated by it."

Hinata opened and closed her mouth. Opened and closed it again. Then the meaning of his words registered, and she immediately lowered her head to prevent the Kazekage from seeing that her face rather resembled a tomato at that moment.

"I-I, um, i-it was my d-duty K-Kazekage-sama! B-besides, y-you s-saved me from a b-blow t-too, so t-thank you as w-well!" God, her voice was like a chipmunk's.

Hearing a strange sound, she looked up just in time to catch the twinkle in his eye and the small smile twisting his lips, and she realized that _oh Kami, he was chuckling._

"That is also true," he remarked. Nodded his head respectfully. "We will see each other later, Hinata-san." Then he turned and walked away.

Hinata was left wondering if her heart was racing just because of her nervousness, his smile, or the fact that's he'd called her by her name. No, it was totally just nerves-

Wait.

 _What did he mean they would see each later?!_

* * *

 **So this one-shot ended up much longer than I expected it to be. Oh well. This is actually the original idea that caused me to upload this entire... thing. I still don't have a word for it.**


	3. The Joys of Bounty Hunting

Kakuzu was a very experienced bounty hunter on top of being a several-thousand-year-old shinobi. He'd traveled around the entire area of the marked forest, visited every town in the Small Counties at least twice, snuck into each Hidden Village at least once, and been around for the founding of the Nations.

Unfortunately for him, there was one thing that never changed. At all.

And that was hunting female bounties.

Honestly, the only thing that could tempt him to go after a kunoichi would be a very large sum of money indeed. And it was all for one reason.

His threads lashed out at the nimble target, managing to wrap around her arms and pin her to a tree.

Doubly unfortunate for him, this one was wanted alive.

He closed his eyes and grit his jaw, forcing himself to ignore the screeching.

He was going to enjoy that money. Every goddamn cent. All caused by-

"Stop those grating noises! Just because I use threads doesn't mean I'll tentacle rape you!"

-that.

The screaming did not stop.

He pushed the pressure point on her neck and she slumped over, unconscious.

Finally. Sweet, blissful silence.

Hefting her over a shoulder, he sighed.

He was asexual, dammit, and thus had no intention to use his best weapon for such a lowly purpose. Such an idea almost made him shudder (but didn't because he was an S-rank criminal and he wouldn't be reduced to such a state by a few pitiful individuals).

Stepping out in the direction of the nearest bounty exchange point, he had one last thought regarding the matter.

 _Troublesome women._

Elsewhere, Shikamaru and Temari sneezed in tandem.

* * *

 **Please tell me if you see any spelling mistakes! I double, triple, and quadruple check these, but it's so hard to correct your own work! :(**


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